Peril, Lord of Whitmore, is desperate for a virtuous bride in order to remove a curse from his newly inherited estate. Where better to find one, he thinks, than at the Brides of Virtue convent? Unfortunately, the abbess won't promise him a wife, rather, she sends along with him an ambitious but bungling novitiate, Eloise of Argent, to test the young earl and decide whether Peril is worthy to be a husband of one of her maidens.

From this initial fun premise, the book spins into constant adventure. The path to true love between these two very sympathetic protagonists is anything but smooth as, together, they battle treachery from all sides. Peril must work through his deep guilt at desiring a "nun," and Eloise must grow to care for Peril enough to consider abandoning her previous plans to become an abbess.

In spite of the often slapstick humor of Eloise's many well-intentioned plans-gone-awry, she is a strong, direct, intelligent heroine. For fans of tortured heroes, Peril will amply fill the bill. A powerful warrior forged in the fire of harsh experience, he discovers with Eloise a wealth of tenderness inside him he never knew he had. The emotional intensity and the sexual sparks between these two are incendiary. And as always, Ms. Krahn, a master at portrayal of the medieval era, makes it come so alive on the page, you will feel you are actually there.